Embers of Earth
by Julez117
Summary: Ruby is alone in her travels of a post-apocalyptic world until she meets Violet. But then Violet is taken from her by bloodthirsty raiders. Ruby must journey through the radiated wastelands and fight her way past zombies, mutants, and other horrifying creatures to get her friend back.


Chapter 1: Hell on Earth

The sun was dry and scorching. Tumbleweeds blew across the deserted wasteland that was once Nevada. With every step of her boots, dust rose from the ground, only to be swept away by the wind, or to fall slowly back down again. Ruby looked around, wary of any movement that caught her eye. She knew how the slavers operated, having been captured by them once, only to narrowly escape from their camp. On her hips were holsters, housing her two Mauser C96's. On her back was an intricately decorated sheath, which housed perhaps the deadliest weapon in her arsenal, her Katana.

After her home was destroyed, Ruby was left to wander the wastelands, searching for a new place to call home. Funny how the apocalypse can turn everything to hell, and can turn everyone into homicidal psychopaths... After two days of traveling and finding nothing, Ruby was beginning to lose hope of finding civilization, let alone a friendly face to talk to. She looked at the shadows cast by the burned out cars and debris that littered the ground. Judging by their position, it was roughly 3 o'clock, meaning she had 5 hours to find suitable shelter before night fell. She let out a sigh, the only noise she ever heard out here. However, her sigh was _not_ the only noise on this occasion. A low, guttural moaning reached her ears. Whipping around, she spotted a small group of walkers, consisting of at least ten, maybe twelve, moving slowly toward her. To most people, a group of zombies in the double digits was death, however, to Ruby, they were nothing more than her daily workout...

When I said people, I meant _living_ people, she muttered to herself. Knowing that firing her Mausers would only attract more zombies, she slowly unsheathed her katana. Holding it to her side, she slowly walked toward the group of shamblers. As the first one reached her, she dodged its arms and sliced it head in half, then sparta kicked the corpse to ground with a soft thud. She then gripped her weapon with both hands and ran toward the middle of the group of walkers, and jumped while executing a pirouette, extending her arms so that the sharp side of the blade was on her right. She managed two complete rotations before landing, her boots making no noise as they touched the ground. What _did_ make noise was six heads and their bodies hitting the ground, sending up a great plume of dust around her. Not wanting to be stuck in the cloud, Ruby dove forward, rolling out of the dust. Looking to mix things up a little, she sheathed her blade and looked around for anything she could use to her advantage.

A car with its door hanging open caught her attention. She ran toward the nearest zombie and grabbed it by the shoulders, and, before it could bite her, threw it towards the open car. It landed precisely where she had wanted it to, its head just below where the door would be when it closed. The zombie started to push itself up, placing its head directly where Ruby wanted it. She ran over and gave the door a spinning reverse kick, slamming it home and utterly destroying the zombie's head, sending brains and blood everywhere with a sick yet cool splattering sound. She then pulled out of her pocket a pair of brass knuckles. Having mastered 6 types of martial arts, these were absolutely devastating in Ruby's hands. Slowly running toward the three remaining zombies, she jumped and gave the first a huge Superman punch, caving in its skull with a loud crunching sound. She swept the legs of second, and as soon as it hit the ground, kicked it toward the third. The second walker bounced of the third, and before it could land, she grabbed its foot and pulled it toward her, hitting it directly in the face with a powerful falcon punch, leaving a huge hole where its face had been. As the corpse landed, she noticed a bit of pipe sticking out of the ground, like a metal stake. She waited, letting the last zombie get closer. As soon as it was within two feet of her, she rolled underneath its outstretched arms to get behind it. In one fluid motion, she placed a hand on the back of the zombie's head and drove her right leg backward toward the zombie's legs while pushing the zombie's head forward. The zombie's body hit the ground with a huge thud, the metal pipe sticking out through the back of its head, bits of brain matter clinging to it.

_All too easy_ she thought to herself. After cleaning her katana on the trousers of one of the zombie corpses, she set off again, alert for any more groups of zombies. After about a half-hour, she noticed something sticking out against the horizon; placing a hand to her eyes, Ruby could make out the shape of a number of buildings, with a wall around it. _Finally, _she thought,_ a town!_ Ruby quickened her pace to a light jog, grateful for a break in her journey. As she neared the wall, she noticed two men standing guard against the entrance, both garbed in suits of very advanced looking armor and carrying some lethal looking weapons. The guard on the right had on a helmet, so Ruby could see nothing of his face. The guard on the left, however, did not. He had short, black hair in a military-style krew cut. He had brown, beady eyes and a thin scar across his forehead and left cheek that went all the down to his badly shaved chin. On both their shoulders, she saw an insignia, a bow with a large arrow drawn, pointed toward the sky.

Slowing to a walk, Ruby approached cautiously, not wanting to give the guards an excuse to shoot her. Once she was within ten feet of the guards, they simultaneously aimed their weapons at her and yelled "HALT!" Ruby complied, hands shoulder-level and a look of polite interest on her face. The guard on left spoke. "Welcome to the city of Xernobyl. What's your business here?"

"Just looking for a place to rest up." Ruby replied," I've been walking ever since I left Reno, or what's left of it anyway."

"I didn't think anyone had gotten out of there," he said looking rather surprised. "Very well. We have an inn here that may have some space for you. When you find it, speak to Yuuna, the innkeeper." He and his companion stepped to the side.

"Thanks very much." Ruby began to forward, but stopped as the second guard spoke.

"Be warned: Violence is not tolerated here. Sky Arrow can and _will_ punish all violators. Keep your weapons sheathed at all times. Understood?"

"Of course officer." she replied, passing by the guards with a wink and a two-fingered salute, and entered the town.

Chapter 2: The New Arrival

Ruby took a good look around. For a war torn hell-hole, the place actually looked half-decent. The people were a different story. There were no smiles, no friendly faces anywhere. The children looked scared and haughty. Everyone's clothes were tattered or ripped, and all covered with dirt or bloodstains. As she entered the city, those nearby turned to get a good look at the new arrival, taking in her appearance. Ruby wore a black t-shirt, covered with a tight leather jacket that only went down to just above the small of her back She also had black jeans, the bottoms tucked into her combat boots. Her medium length black hair, strips dyed red, had patches of brown in it from the dusty desert. Regardless of the grime, her clothes were in excellent condition, making her stand out like a goth in the snow. Trying to appear friendly, Ruby gave everyone a small smile, but stopped when she saw it made everyone only appear more suspicious of her. Walking cautiously now, Ruby proceeded down what appeared to be the main street. While the people here may look like shit, they did have a pretty good chain of artisan businesses. As she walked, she passed a blacksmith, a tailor, and a junk trader. _Now to find that inn_ she said to herself. Looking around, she saw no building that might be the inn, only more businesses and houses.

She spotted a young boy, about the age of 6, walking past her.

"Hey kid!", she yelled. The child stopped in his tracks, looking at Ruby with a mixture of fear and apprehension in his eyes. "Jeez, no need to look like I just shot you. Can you tell me where the inn is?" The child's expression changed ever so slightly, though he still looked as though he expected Ruby to attack him.

"I-It's d-down the street and t-to the left," the boy stammered.

"Thanks," Ruby smiled, tossing the boy a gold coin. The boy stared at the coin as though he never seen something like it before. The boy gave Ruby a smile, deposited the coin in his pocket and ran off. Following the boys directions, Ruby set off until she found herself looking at a two story building, made of grey and red bricks. The sign over the brown oak doors read **Happy Hearth Inn. **Ruby started toward the building, but before she took two steps, a man in a gray shirt and sweatpants spilled out of the doors, stumbling forward onto the pavement and falling on his face. Ruby hurried forward out of concern, but stopped dead when the man looked up at her, a look of anger on his sweat covered face. "Are you all right?" she asked nervously.

"Blergh...And who...who the hell are you s-supposed to be, eh?" The man's words were heavily slurred. Ruby, standing six feet away from him, caught a whiff of stale whiskey. "St-standing there, judging me like I'm some...some kind of dirt beneath your f-feet? Huh?!" Ruby was taken aback by the man's anger, but wasn't entirely surprised by it, given how drunk he was. The man now pushed himself onto his feet, swaying slightly. He tottered toward Ruby, anger flaring in his dull grey eyes. He stretched out his hands, as if to wrap them around her throat. Before he could, he found the barrel of Ruby's Mauser on the side of his head. "What, you're k-kill me? Then do it you...you dumb broad, do it!"

Ruby hesitated. "Maybe I don't have to _kill_ you," she said. The man closed his eyes, but instead of a gunshot, he heard the click of another gun being primed. He opened his eyes and looked around. On his right was the first gun. He followed Ruby's other arm and, with a jolt, saw another Mauser, the barrel of which was pointed directly between his legs. He looked up at Ruby, who wore an amused smirk. His eyes widened.

"Uh, s-sorry for...for botherin' you m-miss." He backed away and stumbled down the street, occasionally losing his balance here and there. Chuckling to herself, Ruby walked into the inn.

There were wooden tables with matching chairs, all of them occupied by men and women alike. Across the room was a bar, the counter made of white marble. Unlike outside, the atmosphere in here was warm, friendly, and inviting. As Ruby made her way towards the counter, she received no dirty looks or suspicious glares, but looks of polite curiosity and even some smiles and friendly waves. As Ruby arrived at the counter, a woman sidled out of a a room behind it. She looked to be in her mid-thirties. She had curly blonde hair and a toothy grin on her heart shaped face.

"Howdy miss! Now what can I do for you?" she asked with a southern accent.

"Hello. The guard at the gate told me to ask for Yuuna. Is that you?"

"Yes indeedy. I take it you need a place to stay?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Yup. I take it you have room?" Ruby asked with a hint of amusement. Yuuna gave a hearty laugh.

"Oh you're good! We've got plenty of room here sweetie. Lemme getcha' a room key." Yuuna rummaged under the bar. Ruby heard the clink of many bottles before Yuuna straightened up with a key. "Here you go honey. You're room one-hundred and seventeen. Dinner's in half an hour if you're hungry, but remember, the bar's always open."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ruby made to walk towards the stairs, but before she could move, Yuuna addressed her again.

"Oh and, miss?" Ruby turned back towards her.

"My name's Ruby."

"Okay, Ruby. Try not to break anything with that, okay honey?" Her eyes were on Ruby's katana.

"I'll be careful." Ruby promised, and she set off up the stairs. Ruby found her room, unlocked it, and stepped inside, closing the door and locking it. Flipping on the light, Ruby took in her room. The walls were plain white and there was a comfy looking queen sized bed, with the fluffiest looking pillows Ruby had ever seen. There was a door that led presumably to a bathroom, and upon investigation, Ruby found, shockingly, the bathroom. There was a toilet, made of black, not white, porcelain. The sink had two taps and a mirror above it. The _piece de' resistance_ was (Ruby's eyes lit up as she saw it) the shower.

Returning to the bed, Ruby unpacked her pack and took out the two sets of clothes she had brought with her. She placed her weapons (still in their sheathe and holsters) on the bed and began to get undressed. She stepped into the shower and turned on the water. Once it warmed up, the water felt amazing, washing away the dust and grime from her light complected skin...

Roughly twelve minutes later, Ruby emerged from the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and smelling faintly of cucumber melon. She sorted through her clothes, not wanting to put on too much. She picked out her black tank-top, and a pair a black jeans with a red band going vertically on the sides of the legs. Rather than go barefoot, she slipped on her favorite pair of socks (black with scarlet stripes). She then collapsed on the bed, trying hard not to drift off to sleep...

Chapter 3: A Friend In Need

Ruby (most unwillingly) pushed herself off of the bed and set off down the carpeted stairs. She arrived just as Yuuna was serving dinner. Sitting herself at an empty table, she waited. Soon enough, Yuuna gave her a plate. On it was pork chops, mashed potatoes and asparagus. Everything was delicious. Ruby went up to the bar and ordered a cup of tea. As she made her way back, she noticed a group of three girls sitting at another table, all three motioning for her to join them. Ruby pulled up a chair and sat down. "So you're the new girl, huh?"  
Ruby merely sipped her tea. "Yup, that's me" The girls introduced themselves. The girl on Ruby's left introduced herself as Elizabeth. She had long, jet black hair and brown eyes. The girls on her right introduced themselves as sisters. First was Shirley, with long brown hair that had a light curl to it. She wore a t-shirt of some long lost band called Nirvana. On her right was her sister Lucy. She had long hair died auburn, glasses, and (Ruby tried and failed not to stare) larger than average breasts. Ruby's eyes moved upward, catching Lucy's. Lucy wore a deeply amused expression.

Ruby quickly looked down at her feet, slightly embarrassed. "S-sorry, I was just-"

"Staring at my boobs?" Lucy interjected. "Don't worry, I get it a lot. Although I must say," her eyes traveled up and down, taking in Ruby's slender, curvy figure, "you're the first_ girl_ to look at them that long."

Unable to think of anything to say, Ruby merely drank more of her tea, feeling her face turn red (Yes, Ruby's a lesbian. Get over it.). Jacquelyn spoke up. "So what's your story?"

"My story? What do you mean?"

Shirley gave Ruby a look of impatience. "Well surely (no pun intended) you didn't just appear here out of thin air?"

Ruby drained the last of her tea. "Very well. When all of this started, my house was destroyed. I salvaged my weapons, some clothes and I set out. I've been walking ever since, all on my own."

"What about friends, or your family? Did any of them make it?" Lucy asked.

"I didn't have any friends. And my parents," Ruby's voice became stiff and cold, "They died. It doesn't matter, they weren't the greatest parents." The girls grew silent at these remarks. "But then again," Ruby began, "The only one who may have survived is my butler, Alestaire, because he was on vacation in England. Even if he's still alive, I've no idea where he might be though." The girls became solemn.

"I miss my phone" Jacquelyn said. "Everyone I loved, all at the touch of a button."

"I miss my car" Shirley piped up. "The wind flowing through my hair, people rushing past..."

"I miss my t.v." Lucy said softly. "Anime, movies, and sitcoms. Endless entertainment..."

"I miss my vibrator."

They all turned to look at Ruby with looks of astonishment and amusement. Ruby wore a smile that had not a trace of embarrassment, but a bit of pride.

"Me too..."

Now Jacquelyn received their looks. Then all four of them began to giggle and laugh harder than they had in quite a while. Once their laughter had died down, the three girls rose from their seats, bade Ruby a goodnight, and retreated upstairs. Ruby stood up and stretched, ready for a good night's sleep, when she heard something. Casting her gaze around, she spotted a young woman sitting alone in a far corner of the room, crying with her arms wrapped around herself. Ruby walked over and pulled up a chair right next to the woman. She had long black hair, bits of it dyed blue, and wore a neat, purple blouse, black skinny jeans and pair of dusty sneakers.

Her eyes, red and bloodshot, met Ruby's. "What do you want?" she asked rather aggressively.

"To ask you what's wrong. I'm here to help"

"N-No you're not." she shook her head at Ruby. "You don't c-care, no one gives a damn about me. N-not anymore."

Ruby was stung by these words, but she held her ground. "If I truly didn't care, I would've left you here to wallow in your misery. Now, I can help you, but only if you let me. So can do you do that for me?"

The girl gave Ruby a scrutinizing look, as though looking for some trace of deceit. "You're not trying to trick me?"

Ruby placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. "Of course not." The girl gave a long sigh and began to speak.

"M-my parents were killed, years ago, in a car crash. Its was j-just me and m-my little sisters, They were both only nine years old. We-we were at home, watching t.v., when we h-heard something banging around in the backyard. T-then, they c-came." Her breath became sharp and heavy, her eyes began to swim with tears. "Dead-dead p-people came i-in and they attacked us. W-we ran, b-b-but we were separated," tears were now pouring down her cheeks, "I- I ran into the woods, b-but as I ran I-I heard them screaming"

"You heard who screaming?' Ruby asked, knowing the answer.

"My-my-my s-sisters!" The girl then burst into an upheaval of sobbing. Fighting back tears herself, Ruby placed the girl's head on her shoulder and held tightly her as she cried. While she held the young woman, Ruby couldn't help (but wonder how she could have these thoughts at a time like this) but notice how smooth the girl's skin was, or how soft her breasts felt, pressing gently against her own. When her sobs subsided, Ruby spoke to her.

"What's your name" she asked gently?"

"V-Violet Fox"

"Such a lovely name. Well Violet, you've earned my sympathy and much more. No one should have to go through what you've been through. So I'm gonna make you an offer. Why don't you stay here with me?"

Violet's expression was blank. "W-what do you mean?"

"I would like it if you'd stay here with me, in this inn. You need a friend; you need someone who will protect you and care for and about you. I won't let you wander around this god forsaken hellhole all by yourself, only to be killed by God knows what."

Violet's eyes narrowed, suspicion in them. "I don't believe you. It's gotta be a trick." Her eyes brimmed with tears again. "There's no one left one this earth who could care about me. No one does, not even y-" Her sentence was cut short, however, due to the fact that she suddenly found Ruby's lips pressed softly against hers, and the sudden taste of strawberry lip-gloss. Violet was confused, but she didn't pull away, instead closing her eyes. Ruby broke the contact, (very pleased to the the pink tinge that had appeared on her cheeks) and looked directly into Violet's light blue eyes with an expression of defiance and compassion.

"You're wrong. I _do_ care."

"B-but we just met and-"

"Does that really matter?!" Ruby interjected. "You don't need to know every single fucking detail of someone's life to feel compassion for them! You and I are in the same boat, and I'm not about to let it sink. I told you, you need someone to look out for you. That's where _I_ come in."

Violet expression softened. "You...you really care?" Ruby extended her arm and place a hand Violet's cheek.

"Of course I do" she whispered, and, placed her lips, light as a butterfly, once again on Violet's, only this time, Violet responded with a little enthusiasm. Once they broke apart again, Ruby stood up and extended a hand again. "So how about. Do you want to join me here, and in any adventures I may embark on?" Violet took her hand.

"Sure"

Ruby smiled. "Excellent. Come on, lets heads upstairs and get you washed up." The duo then proceeded up the stairs and into Ruby's room. Switching on the light, Ruby pointed towards the bathroom. THere's a shower in there if you want to take one."

"That'd be great, but I don't have anything to change into."

"No prob, you can borrow something of mine." Violet stepped into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Ruby went to her pack and took out her third set of clothes, placing them on the bed. She noticed her original set of clothes lying in a pile, clean and neatly folded. A note on the top told Ruby that Yuuna had taken the liberty of washing the clothes for her. Ruby then replaced these into her pack. She stripped off her socks and threw them into the pack as well. Ruby stretched out onto the bed, deep in thought. _What a day this has been_ she thought to herself._ Stranger and stranger...And speaking of strangers_...her thoughts turned to Violet. As she did so, Ruby felt a rush of adrenaline suddenly course through her body. Her stomach was filled a feeling she would normally associate with nervousness, but nervous was _not _how she was feeling. Ruby's hands were sweating slightly, and her finger were itching to do things to herself she knew that she shouldn't. Before she could act on these impulses, she heard the water in the bathroom turn off. Ruby quickly sat up, wiping the sweat from her palms on her jeans. Violet emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body and her hair slightly damp.

"Feeling any better?" Ruby asked her.

"Much, much better" Violet answered, her voice much more steady and stronger than earlier.

"You can have the bed" Ruby told her.

Violet blushed slightly. "Well, I-I don't mind sharing, if you don't."

Ruby smiled. "Sounds lovely. Here's some clothes for you." she said, pointing.

"Yeah...about the clothes..." Violet picked up the clothes, but didn't don them, instead placing them carefully on Ruby's pack. She then strode over to the the light switch and flicked it off. She walked towards Ruby, stopping only when they were mere inches away. "It's night after all." she said, placing her hands on Ruby's hips, letting the towel fall to the floor with a soft _flump. _"I don't see any reason to get dressed." Ruby became aware that Violet's hands had left her hips, and were down undoing the button and zipper of Ruby's jeans. "Know what I mean...?"

Ruby slowly shed her tank-top. "I know exactly what you mean." Before she knew it, Ruby found herself devoid of all clothes, and under the sheets of the bed, with Violet on top of her.

It was well past midnight, but for Ruby, the night was just getting started...

Chapter 4: Tai-Kwon-Do and Testicular Destruction

Ruby awoke the next morning in the semidarkness of the room. She turned to look at Violet. She was still asleep, her chest rising and falling slowly under the covers.

Ruby reached out a hand and stroked her cheek, smiling slightly. As she did so, Ruby suddenly found the desires of the night before rush back to her. Only this time, Ruby found them _much_ harder to deny. So she gave in. She tried very hard not to let any sound escape from her, but try as she did, she was unable to prevent a small moan from coming out of her mouth. She then felt Violet begin to stir next to her. Ruby desisted immediately, slightly ashamed of herself. Violet slowly opened her eyes, brightening up slightly when she saw Ruby. "Good Morning."

"Morning Sunshine. How'd you sleep?"

"Better than I have in a long time. All thanks to you." Violet gave Ruby a kiss on the tip of her nose. Now it was Ruby's turn to go red. "Aww, you're so cute when you blush...". Ruby returned the smile. "I'm really glad to have met you."

Ruby placed a hand on Violet's cheek again. "And I'm glad to have you here with me."

"Ruby, I've been thinking..."

"About what?"

"About us...I mean..." Violet struggled to find the right words.

"Well come on Vi, spit it out!" Ruby said patiently.

"I-I mean...what if something happens to you? What if you're hurt or killed. I-I can't defend you, or hell, even defend myself. What if someone kidnaps me or-"

"Enough!" Ruby sat up in the bed (not troubling to keep herself covered) and placed a finger on Violet's lips, quieting her. "I told you last night, I am not going to let anything happen to you. Kidnapped? Well if they somehow manage that, they'd better have a goddamn _army_ with them, because I will tear this _whole fucking world apart_ to get you back. I don't care what I have to do, or who I have to kill, I will do it. And when I find the bastards who took you, I'm gonna cut out their eyes, chain them to a wall and have them eaten alive by a horde of zombies! So don't you think for a second that anything is going to happen to you, 'cause I'll be damned if I let that happen!"

Violet said nothing, but she smiled a very small, reassured smile. "Now come on, lets get dressed and go get some breakfast. Ruby donned the same clothes she wore the previous evening, with the addition of her boots and a t-shirt with a symbol made of certain letters of the greek alphabet (Omega, Sigma, Delta, and Iota).

"How do I look?" Violet had dressed herself in the clothes that Ruby had loaned her, black jeans with blue bands down the sides and a t-shirt bearing a white skull in an ace of spades. Ruby walked around her to get a better look.

"Pretty sexy," Ruby commented, giving Violet's ass a smack. "Now come on, let's get some breakfast." The duo proceeded downstairs, wishing various others good morning as they passed. They sat themselves at the same table as the night before, where they thoroughly enjoyed the hot waffles and coffee served to them by Yuuna. "Ah, the breakfast of champions!" Ruby said, putting her fork down. "Vi, stay here and I'll be right back." Violet watched Ruby dash up the stairs, returning a minute later with her katana strapped on her back. "Come on, let's get going."

The two walked out into the street. "What are doing?" Violet asked.

"Well dearie, I need to teach you how to defend yourself."

"Why?"

"Well now, don't take this the wrong way, but you come off as a bit of a pansy"

Violet paced her hands on her hips, expression defiant, "That's not what you were saying last night."

"Ap bup bup let's not go there! Anyway, there's gotta be some kinda gym or training field or something like that. Oh hey, maybe these guys know. Hey, guards!" Ruby spotted a pair of Sky Arrow guards, both with helmets, patrolling through the streets. Running up to them, Ruby read their name tags: she was speaking with Privates Simmons and Griff.

"What can we do for you ma'am?" They answered simultaneously.

"Is there some place here where me and my friend here can do a bit of training and sparring?"

Griff answered her. "There's a training field over on the west side of town. You can spar over there."

"Just watch yourself," Simmons said. "It's a bit dangerous, so do be careful."

"Will do, thank you sirs."

The guards walked off to continue their patrol. Ruby turned to Violet "Well, you heard the man, let's go!"

They set off across town, taking the various traders and shops as they went. Ruby made a mental note to visit a bakery that they passed. As they neared the western edge of the city, the sounds of clashing metal and gunshots reached their ears, Hurrying forward, they saw a vast field, roughly two football fields in length and width, filled with all kinds of people. The field was divided into quarters. The first was filled will marksmen and bowmen. The second had people sparring with all kinds of swords and knives. The third had hand-to-hand combatants sparring with each other. The fourth had no combat, but instead those who were resting from their sparring or merely there to observe everyone else. Ruby and Violet set off for the fourth field, which was the emptiest of them all.

"So um, what exactly is it you're gonna teach me?" Violet asked with a touch of apprehension.

"Well, first things first, I need to figure out how much strength you have."

"How are you gonna find that out?"

"SImple." Ruby held hand, palm facing Violet. "Hit me."

"Huh?"

"Hit my hand Vi. As you hard as you can."

"Oh, um...okay."

Violet gave Ruby's hand a rather weak punch, nearly falling over as she did so.

"Was that really your hardest?" Ruby asked quietly.

"Yes..." Violet said in a very small voice, aware of some of the men who were watching snickering at her.

"Hey, no worries Vi, that's what we're here to work on."

So Ruby took Violet through the steps of learning to fight. Ruby focused on teaching Violet Savate, a French style of fighting that focussed mainly on kicks, which helped to make up for Violet's lack of strength. She also taught Violet to block strikes and counter with her own. Violet was a fast and eager learner. After three hard hours of work, they took a break.

"You're a fast learner!" Ruby said. "Now then, for the last thing we're gonna do today..." Ruby adopted a fighting stance, "...Come at me!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Practicing on your own is one thing, but there's better teacher than experience, and the only way you get experience is sparring with an actual person. Now come at me!"

Violet gave a smile an adopted her own stance.

The two moved in a circle, neither making a sound. Then Violet leapt forward with a superman punch, which Ruby sidestepped. Violet landed and immediately threw out a reverse kick, nearly catching Ruby in the stomach. Ruby swiped the kick aside and pushed her own attacks, jumping into the air and bringing her leg down in an axe kick. Violet blocked by catching Ruby's leg in an X she made with her forearms. Violet pushed upward, hoping to overbalance Ruby and knock her to the ground. However, Ruby used the momentum to launch into a backflip. She then dashed forward, throwing out a right hook. Violet blocked with a swipe of her hand, which sent Ruby spinning, and countered with a roundhouse. Ruby (still spinning) blocked the kick by placing her forearms in front of her face. Violet used the momentum of her kick to spin into a leg sweep, which Ruby avoided with a diving roll. Violet then threw out a haymaker, but ended up hitting nothing but air. Ruby had leapt over her, grabbing Violet's hands. Violet's arms were then pinned to her sides as Ruby landed behind her.

"Not bad at all" Ruby whispered in her ear. "Next time I might not have to hold back." As she finished her sentence, a sharp, snide laugh reached their ears. The owner of the voice was a large, burl, thickset man with curly brown hair and bulging muscles. "And what the hell are you laughing at? Who the hell are you anyway?"

The man stood up. He was at the very least six and a half feet tall. "They call me Smith. What I'm laughing at? That'd be you two. You're so cute, practicing all your little punches and kicks. You wouldn't last two seconds against someone like me."

Ruby made to step forward, but Violet threw out a hand to stop her. "Let me handle this." Ruby stepped back, arms crossed as Violet addressed the man. "So you're looking for a fight, is that it? Well lemme explain something punk, if we do this, you're gonna lose."

Smith said nothing, merely cracking his knuckles in a menacing way.

"Think about it. If we were to fight, and you win, you beat a _girl_ who had had your size and strength. If you lose, you lost to a _girl_. Don't you see, it's a lose-lose for you, and a win-win for me."

Smith lowered his hands slowly.

"Wise move." Violet turned to walk away from the man.

"Look out!"

Violet felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and was thrown forward onto her knees. Spots blinked in front of her eyes. As she shook her head to clear it, Violet heard a low growl, unlike that of a female tiger. Turning over, Violet saw Ruby leap over her, charging at Smith, determined to cause him as pain as possible.

Smith threw out a punch, which Ruby blocked with her left arm, using her right to punch him in the stomach once, twice, three times. Ruby grabbed Smith's head and brought it down to meet her knee, which she thrust upwards at his face, breaking his nose and sending blood flying through the air. Ruby punched him in the jaw with a right hook and spun into a reverse elbow with her left arm, catching Smith in the throat.

She then hit him under the jaw with an uppercut, spinning and bringing down the same fist in a haymaker. Teeth bared, Ruby swept Smith's legs, pushing him hard to the ground with her left hand. As soon as he landed, she raised her right fist and drove it into the fork of his legs. Ruby then kicked the same spot as hard as she could with the steel toes of her boot, sending Smith across the ground, sliding to a stop ten feet away, where he lay quite still, whimpering quietly and holding himself.

Ruby stood there, breathing heavily and staring at Smith with pure hatred in her eyes. She turned her back on him, looking at Violet with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I-I think so" Violet replied shakily, as Ruby helped her to her feet.

"Stupid son of a bitch..."she said, with a glance at the prone figure on the ground. "Next time, I kill you!" she yelled, spitting in his direction. "Come on, let's get the hell outta here." Ruby glanced around as she re-donned her katana, taking in the looks of awe and fear on the faces of all the men who had sat there and watched her absolutely destroy a man's testicles.

Ruby and Violet hurried off of the field, eager to end the day on a good note, and not in some post-apocalyptic jail. So the two decided to visit a few of the shops that they has passed on the way to the training field. They found a junk dealer who had all sorts of objects that he had salvaged from ruins or abandoned shops in other towns. A certain purple, curved object caught Ruby's eye, and while Violet was busy looking at an assortment of canes, some with hidden swords or spiked bottoms, Ruby quietly purchased the object and placed at the bottom of the bag of other objects they had already purchased. A jewelry merchant with all kinds of earrings and wrist-wear caught Violet's eye. She purchased herself a pair of aquamarine earrings, which were matching triangular symbols (a triangle made of three separate triangles.)

"What did you get?" Violet asked, as the light sparkled on her earrings"

"Oh you know..." Ruby reached a hand into the bag she was carrying. Violet heard a button being clicked, and then heard the sound of an object vibrating.

"There's no way..."

"Yes there is."

"You didn't buy a-"

"Yes I did."

Violet gave Ruby a look a incredulity. "You really are a bad girl, aren't you?"

Ruby responded merely with a very mischievous smile.

Chapter 5: Mental Metal Meth-Heads

That night it rained. Lighting danced across the sky in flashes of dazzling light. The drums of thunder beat out their song at regular intervals. The black sky showered the city with it's icy tears. All was quiet at the inn.

Violet couldn't sleep. The thunder snapped her eyes open every time she closed them. Ruby however, was fast asleep right next to her. Growing up to the sounds of raucous laughter and loud conversation of her parents' late-night party guests, a little thunder was no bother to her. Violet sat up and gave a very quiet sigh. Ruby sat bolt upright, fists raised and eyes alert, as though she had been feigning sleep.

"Really?Really?!"

"What?" Ruby asked, bewildered.

"You slept through all of this-" she pointed towards the window, thunder accompanying her words,"- But I let out one little sigh, and you act as though it were a damn gunshot!"

Ruby gave a shrug. "What can I say, I'm used to you keeping me up all night," she said with a wink.

"Oh ha ha, very funny."

"Sheesh, what's got your panties in a bunch?"

Violet gave another sigh. "I'm sorry Ruby, it's just that I can't sleep with all of this. I tend to get rather irritable when I can't sleep."

"Geez, I can't imagine when you're on your period."

"Ruby!" Violet said indignantly. Ruby ran a hand through her hair.

"Come on Vi, I'm just joking!" Violet hunched her shoulders.

"Hmph. I'm going downstairs for a drink. Maybe that'll help."

Ruby called out to her as she strode toward the door, "Try hot tea with honey. That always helps me!"

"Duly noted," Violet said, shutting the door with a snap.

Stretching, Ruby strode over to the window, peeking between the curtains. A brief flash of lighting revealed five or six figures making their way towards the inn. Probably some guards wanting to get out of the rain, she thought to herself.

How wrong she was.

Violet's spoon clinked gently as she poured honey into her tea.

"Couldn't sleep eh?" a voice said, making Violet jump and nearly knock over her drink. Turning around, she found Yuuna standing on the opposite side of the bar, a sleepy expression on her face.

"Oh it's you. Yeah, the thunder kept me up."

"Don't worry honey, you're not the only one."

Violet raised her cup to her lips, about to take a sip, when noise cam from the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Who could be here at this time of night?"

"It's probably just some o' them Sky Arrow folks wantin' to get outta the rain. It's not the first time."

Yuuna sat herself on the bar and slid her legs over. She strode towards the door in a tired manner. She opened it slowly, bringing in the din from outside.

"Oh, hello. What can I do for y-"

Her words were cut short as a loud BANG issued forth and the top left quarter of her head blew apart in a shower of skull fragments, brains and blood. Her body toppled backwards onto the hard wooden floor, blood pooling out of the hole in her skull. Men in shaggy, tattered clothing leaped over body. They wore metal armor with spikes protruding from the pauldrons on their of them flew up the stairs, while the other two ran towards Violet, who let out a scream and threw her cup at them, showering one in hot tea, causing him to yell in agony. His companion puled a wicked looking dagger from his belt (which appeared to made of human scalps), the blade gleaming in the candlelight. Violet, seeing she had nowhere to run, raised her fists and yelled to the ceiling, "Ruby!"

Ruby heard a gunshot break through the noise of the thunder, followed a scream of fear. "What the hell-?"

"Ruby!"

"Violet!"

Ruby flung herself at the door, wrenching it open and leaping into the hall, where she collided with someone. She got a brief glimpse of bloodshot eyes, shaggy hair, and the scent of booze and drugs before something heavy collided with the side of her head,. Her vision faded to black as she fell forward onto the carpet.

Violet dodged the thrust, leaping to side with speed and grace.

"Yesss, you will make a fine slave!" the man hissed at her. He leaped forward, bringing the blade down in a huge slash. Violet caught his wrist and twisted his arm, taking the blade from his grip and shoving him away. Now it was her turn to attack. She rushed at the man, heart pumping furiously. He threw out a right hook that would've knocked her out had she not rolled under it. Holding the dagger in a reverse grip, she plunged the blade into his back, all the way up to the hilt. Violet then spun around and brought the blade forward into his chest, penetrating his heart. She withdrew the blade, causing blood to shoot out of his chest like the cork out of a bottle. Tossing his body aside, Violet looked around for the man's companion. He was huddled in a corner, hand over his face, which now had a reddish hew to it. Bringing her arm back, she flung the blade just as Ruby had taught her to, sending it flying end over end towards the man. She misjudged the distance however, and the hilt of the dagger struck the man in the temple, making him keel over sideways.

_Damn it. Well, at least I won't have to deal with him for the time being_ she thought to herself. _Now I have to get to Ruby. Wait, where did the other ones go-_

Violet heard a noise behind her, but before she could turn around she found herself on the ground with someone on top of her. She could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck, rapid and shallow. He laughed maniacally as she struggled against his weight.

"I've got her! I've got her!" He let out another crazed laugh.

"Yessss! You will make a fine slave!"

Violet felt hands grasp at the button of her jeans, while another bound her hands and tied a strip of black cloth around her mouth, rendering her unable to speak. Just as her pants were halfway down her legs, the sounds of footsteps could be heard from above.

'"Boss, I think the rest of 'em are up!"

"Shit. Alright, lets get the 'ell outta 'ere before those damned Sky Arrow bastards show up!"

Violet was lifted onto someones shoulder and carried towards the door. She struggled with all her might, but was unable to free herself. Desperate, she sent an elbow into the back of her captor's head. It worked, and he dropped her as he placed his hands on his head. Violet leapt to her feet, struggling to free her hands from their bonds. The man she hit had recovered quickly however, and hurried to recapture her. Without thinking, Violet dodged the blow he sent at her and spun into a leaping reverse kick, catching him under the chin. He flew up in air and landed ten feet away, his head hitting the corner of the wooden table, leaving a smear of blood. His body rolled to a stop, and he did not get up again.

"Damn it, someone get 'er and let's GO!"

The stranger's last companion grabbed Violet and placed her in a full nelson. She kicked furiously, screaming through the cloth on her mouth, but the man's hold was too strong as he dragged her out of the building. Violet shook her head rapidly, moving the cloth away from her mouth. She let out one last scream for help right before the man gave her a sharp blow in the back of her head this time.

Ruby slowly opened her eyes. Her mind felt sluggish. She was still lying on the floor outside her room, where the mysterious stranger had knocked her unconscious. The sounds of desperate screams reached her ears, and something inside her head clicked into place.

"Vio-let..."

Ruby struggled to push herself up off of the floor. Her chest was six inches off the ground when her arms gave way and her vision faded to black once more.

_Violet..._

Chapter 6: Bad Cop, Bad Cop

Ruby awoke with a start. She was no longer on the floor, but on the bed in her room. There was a Sky Arrow guard standing on the opposite side of the room. Ruby sat up and received a nasty throb in her head. "Son of a bitch-" Ruby moaned, rubbing her temples.

The guard looked around at the sound of her voice. It was Griff, the guard Ruby had asked for directions. "Oh good, you're awake. We were afraid you had a concussion and might be in a coma after that blow you took."

"What happened? Who the hell were those people?"

"They're called the Jackals," the guard said darkly. "They're nothing but a bunch of meth-head raiders. They steal money, supplies, and even kidnap young women and make them slaves."

That's when Ruby remembered. "Violet! Have you seen my friend? Is she here?"

"I'm afraid...," the guard hesitated to finish his sentence.

"Afraid what? Tell me!"

The guard gave a sigh. "She not here. They took her. I'm sorry miss." Ruby collapsed on the bed, a hollow, empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"No...no...Violet..." Tears began to cascade down Ruby's cheeks.

"She didn't go without a fight," the guard said. "There were five of the bastards. She killed two of them and knocked out a third. The other two are the ones that got away with her."

Ruby gave a shaky laugh. "Heh, good girl Violet...You said she knocked one of them out?"

"That's right. We're holding him on the ground floor for questioning. Hey, what are you doing?" he asked, as Ruby went to her bag and took out one of her Mausers.

Wiping her face, Ruby told the guard, "Take me to him."

"I beg your pardon?"

Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Take to the bastard downstairs. I'll question him myself."

The guard shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't allow that. Only authorized personnel are allowed to-" the guard found himself pinned against the wall, Ruby's Mauser pointed directly between his eyes.

"Now you listen here asshole, I don't give a damn if God himself isn't allowed in there, I _am_ going to interrogate him. I need to find out where they may have taken Violet. Once I'm done questioning him, I'll set off to get her back. I don't care if I have to kill you, him, or anyone else; _nothing_ and _no one_ is going to stop me from getting Violet back, understand?!"

Griff gave a small sigh. "Very well. Now if you could put me down, we can go ask the scumbag a few questions" Ruby dropped him where he stood. Griff reached into a pack on his armor and pulled out a rather large cigarette lighter. "Here, take this."

"What do I need this for? I don't smoke."

"When a Jackal is captured, rather than give in to torture or interrogation, they kill themselves by biting off the end of their tongues and allow themselves to bleed out. If this one we have tries to do that, use the lighter to cauterize the wound so we don't lose him."

"Excellent. Let's go." Ruby followed Griff downstairs into the destroyed lobby. More guards stood around, examining the scene. Chairs and tables littered the floor, overturned and broken. One table had a large smear of blood on the corner. Pools of blood littered the floor, along with bits of broken glass near the bar area. In the corner opposite the stairs, there were three body bags. "I thought you said she killed two of them. Why are there three bodies?"

"From what we can tell, the Jackals killed the innkeeper as soon as they entered the premises."

_Poor Yuuna_, Ruby shook her head as she followed Griff to a door flanked by two helmeted guards.

"Gentlemen, this young lady is going to help me interrogate the Jackal."

"But sir", the guard on the right protested, "protocol dictates that only authorized personnel are permitted to-"

"Tucker..." Griff said in a dangerous voice. Tucker sprang into a salute.

"Yes sir, shutting up now sir!"

"That's more like it. Now then," Ruby turned to Griff, "Just stay out of my way in there, and we'll be done before you know it." Ruby turned the knob on the door and walked in, followed by Griff. The Jackal was in the center of the room, which was completely empty aside from him and the chair he sat on. His hands and feet were bound, and there was a large, purple bruise on the center of his forehead from where Violet had thrown the dagger at him.

Quick as a flash, Ruby locked the door behind her, drew her Mauser and shot the Jackal in the kneecap. He fell sideways off the chair, clutching his knee and cursing.

"Agh, you fucking bitch! You fucking WHORE!"

"Now that I've got your attention," Ruby said cooly, "here's what's gonna happen: I'm ask you a question, you give me an answer; I don't get the answer I want, I break something of yours. Are we clear?"

The Jackal gave a harsh laugh, smiling through the pain. "Hehe...I 'll tell you what bitch, why don't you just fuckin' blow me, and maybe we'll discuss questions and answers, huh? Ha ha!" He gave another pained laugh.

Ruby strode forward and, ignoring Griff's protests, stamped hard on the Jackal's wounded kneecap, causing him to both cry out in pain and laugh, as though he were enjoying it in some sick, twisted way. "Now then, last night when you lot came, your buddies left with a friend of mine. Where are they taking her?

The Jackal's face darkened at the mention of Violet. "Oh, that little bitch. She killed my brother you know! If I ever see her again I'll gouge out her eyes and skull-fuck her. Then I'll take my blade and-" Ruby grabbed his right hand and broke two of his fingers in one fluid motion, silencing him.

"One more word about Violet and I cut your dick off and shove it down your throat, got me? Now then, I'll ask once more, where did they take her?!"

The jackal spat at her. "Just fucking kill me bitch, I'll never talk. None of us will ever talk...And you'll never find your little friend...Oh, the things they're gonna do to her, she's gonna wish they'd just killed her. She's gonna be screaming...crying...begging them to stop, but they're not gonna, they're gonna keep on going, taking turns with her. Then once they're done with he and she's basically lifeless, they'll scalp her and feed her body to a pack of hellhounds. Face it doll, she's so fuckin' dead and she doesn't even know it-"

He stopped in his speech as he suddenly found two more wounds on himself; One in his left and right shoulder, blood seeping through his shirt. Ruby advanced on him, pure hatred on her face. She stuck the middle and index fingers of both her hands deep into his wounds and twisted them furiously, causing him to yell in agony and then laugh about it.

"I...don't think so...hehe...I'll see you in hell...bitch" He stuck out his tongue and brought his teeth down on it, severing the end right off and leaking blood all over his mouth.

"I don't think so asshole!" Ruby reached into her pocket and pulled out the lighter, flicking it open. She grabbed what remained of the Jackal's tongue and pulled it out as far as it would go, then placed the flame of the lighter directly on it, burning it so as to stop the bleeding. The jackal struggled violently, but Ruby maintained her grip on him. Only when the tip was an orangish-red color did she let go.

"No, no, no, you goddamm whore!" he yelled, words strangled slightly as he tried to pronounce them with most of his tongue missing. "You fucking, no good, cock thucking lil' asswipe!"

Ruby placed her fingers in his wounds again, simultaneously placing her foot on his wounded knee, pushing down with as much force as she could. The jackal yelled so loudly that Ruby longed to kill him just for silence.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you! Pleathe, jus' thop, thop!" his breathing was heavy and labored. "We've goth a bathe in the dethert. She's probably been thaken there."

"Thank you...asshole." Ruby said, shooting him in the head, directly between the eyes.

Chapter 7: An Old Friend

Ruby left the room and bounded up the stairs. "Hey, wait!" Griff called to her, but she ignored him. She dashed into her room and began gathering her things. "Hold on!" Griff burst into the room, slightly out of breath.

"Don't try to stop me!" Ruby snarled, placing her katana on her back.

"Please just listen to me," Griff said, a note of desperation in his voice. "At least let me send with a few of my men with you for support."

Ruby was outraged. "I can handle myself just _fine_! I don't need to be slowed down by some trigger-happy jar-heads!" She angrily threw

Griff's voice became stern. "_Listen_ to me. You and I both know that there are things much worse than the Jackals out there. One person alone cannot hope to succ-"

"No,_you_ listen," Ruby growled, "I know damn well what's out there, but like I told you before, I'll find Violet even if I have to kill a thousand zombies and the Devil himself. I am not a helpless child who-"

"I know that, miss, I really do." Griff's was calm, but forcibly so. "But you need to get it through your head that you don't have to do this alone! If you really want to get your friend back-" Ruby narrowed her eyes venomously, "-then you need _help_."

Ruby scowled and crossed her arms. "Fine. But make sure these guys know what they're doing, I don't wanna have to babysit some new recruits who wanna play hero. And you tell them that they'll be taking orders me, you got it?"

"Not a problem." Griff turned and spoke into his helmet's communication system. "Get me Raptor, Ace, and Phantom out here, on the double." Turning to Ruby, he added "Those are three of my best men. If there's any three in this city who can get shit done, it's them. I'll head back downstairs to wait for them, you finish packing your things."

Ruby scrambled around, making sure she had her reserve mags and brass knuckles in her bag. She hurried back downstairs to join Griff, whom she found talking with two soldiers, a third leaning in the shadow of the stairs. Of the two talking with Griff, one had a bottle-green strip of cloth tied neatly over his left eye. His hair was a fair brown, and there was a large sniper rifle slung over his back. The other had a hard but kind face with eyes the color as the cloth tied on the other man's head.

"Alright ladies, here she is," Grif said. "From here on, you take orders from her, understood? Just do as she says and don't get in her way, and she won't kill." The soldier with the green eyes let a small sound of derisiveness. Girff's head turned sharply in his direction. "Something to say, Raptor?" Griff asked slowly.

"Respectfully sir, I don't think that this little girl could _possibly_ lead a mission like this. She's only going to get herself kill-"

There was a blur of movement, and suddenly Raptor found a katana at his throat and felt the metallic tip of a Mauser barrel on his temple.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Ruby growled in his ear. "Finish the sentence, I _dare_ you..."

"Umm. I-I was just saying th-that I look forward to working with y-you."

"That's what I thought you said" Ruby released Raptor and re-sheathed her weapons in one fluid motion. She turned to the man with the sniper rifle. "So who're you?" she shot at him. "You any good with that thing?" she said, eying his sniper rifle.

He gave a low chuckle. "They call me 'Ace' for a reason ma'am. I don't need two eyes to look down a scope and pull the trigger."

**This is as far as I've gotten. I'll upload the rst once I've written it. Any feedback is much appreciated.**


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